Six go on trial over London arson attack blamed on Russia's Wagner group

LONDON (Reuters) -Six men went on trial on Wednesday over an arson attack which prosecutors say was carried out on behalf of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group against a business in London that shipped goods to Ukraine.

Four of the group are accused of aggravated arson on the Ukrainian-linked premises on an industrial estate in east London last March. Two others face charges of failing to disclose information about terrorist acts.

They deny the charges.

The goods the business shipped to Ukraine included satellite equipment from Elon Musk's Starlink.

Prosecutor Duncan Penny told London's Old Bailey court the arson was "calculated criminality – but it was at the behest of foreign influence".

He said that while those on trial may have been acting for "good old-fashioned greed", the men directing them were doing so on behalf of the Wagner group, banned by Britain as a terrorist organisation.

Penny said the arson was organised by Dylan Earl, who had contacted Wagner on Telegram and last October admitted a charge of aggravated arson and being reckless as to whether lives would be endangered.

Earl also became the first person to be convicted under the new National Security Act (NSA), brought to crack down on hostile activity by foreign states, when he admitted preparatory conduct to carry out acts which endangered life or created a serious risk to the safety of the public in the UK.

Another man, Jake Reeves, 23, pleaded guilty in November to charges of aggravated arson and admitted a charge under the NSA of obtaining a material benefit from a foreign intelligence service, the prosecutor told the court.

He said Earl and Reeves were also involved in a plot to carry out arson attacks on two other London businesses, a wine bar and a restaurant, and to kidnap the owner.

The British authorities have accused Russia or its agents of being behind a number of spy plots and sabotage missions in Britain and across Europe, with the UK's domestic spy chief saying Russian operatives were trying to cause "mayhem".

The Kremlin denies any such involvement and says London repeatedly blames it for anything "bad" that happens in Britain.

Paul English, 61, Nii Kojo Mensah, 23, Jakeem Rose, 23, and Ugnius Asmena, 20, deny aggravated arson. Dmitrijus Paulauska, 23, and Ashton Evans, 20, deny knowing about terrorist acts but failing to disclose the information.

The trial continues.

(Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by Timothy Heritage)